tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135202672018-03-05T10:47:26.101-06:00The Great Motorcycle Pizza TourLuckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.comBlogger108815TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTourhttps://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13520267.post-4174447905680465052016-11-01T21:37:00.002-05:002016-11-01T21:37:17.941-05:00It's Nano Time!Phew, a bit dusty around here, isn't it? &nbsp;Seems like it was just November 2015 and here it is a year later already...<br /><br />Anyway, as usual, I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. &nbsp;If you'd like to follow along and read my novel in all of it's unedited, barely-planned glory, you can do so right over here: <a href="http://minornobility.blogspot.com/">http://minornobility.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />So stop by and have a read! &nbsp;It'll be fun!<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTour/~4/ml6HdrBu0Mc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Luckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13520267.post-64637718638766666052015-10-31T15:51:00.000-05:002015-10-31T15:50:53.387-05:00It's That Time of Year Again!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yXm4g6Z4oi8/VFGFHyHlAoI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/jQ6_tNqc2GY/s1600/typewriterbunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yXm4g6Z4oi8/VFGFHyHlAoI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/jQ6_tNqc2GY/s1600/typewriterbunny.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"That bunny gives me the creeps, Lucky"<br />"Me too, Triumph. I think he's pretty harmless, though..."</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>No, not Halloween.&nbsp; It's time for another brave experiment in high-speed fiction production.&nbsp; Yes, <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/">National Novel Writing Month</a> begins tomorrow. Like every year, I'll be spending a month pouring all of my creative energy into pumping out something more or less novel-shaped for your entertainment.&nbsp; It won't be edited, definitely won't be polished, but with any luck it <i>will</i> be a fun story.<br /><br />You'll be able to play along at home, <a href="http://minordifficulties.blogspot.com/">right over here at the new novel's blog</a>. Why not head over there and subscribe to the feed?<br /><br />Oh, and I guess it <i>is</i> Halloween, too.&nbsp; Here's your treat, a toe-tappin' psychobilly cover of an old Misfits tune.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zSA-7unR1DQ?rel=0" width="420"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /><br />(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetheriot/5822821493/">photo by J E Theriot</a>)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTour/~4/xS2TjLlW2Pw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Luckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13520267.post-37889769282340751692015-10-21T22:29:00.000-05:002015-10-21T22:29:39.161-05:00And then we were like BRAAAP!!!<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/flge_rw6RG0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <br><br>I tried. I couldn't resist.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTour/~4/MuR2E0uQKWc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Luckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13520267.post-82949117872267217332015-07-28T08:30:00.000-05:002015-07-28T08:30:55.383-05:00Scenic Bypass<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TaBavXHJpGM/VU_mi9RS22I/AAAAAAAAA9A/uxywkep7ymg/s1600/TrainPark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TaBavXHJpGM/VU_mi9RS22I/AAAAAAAAA9A/uxywkep7ymg/s400/TrainPark.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these vehicles drastically reduced the amount of time it takes <br />to cross the nation and revolutionized inter-state travel with it's capacity <br />for previously unimaginable speed.&nbsp; The other is a train.</td></tr></tbody></table>On a fine spring day earlier this year, the weather was tolerably warm, the sun was shining, and so far as I could tell, there weren't any road closures to prevent me from taking a ride along the <a href="http://www.mnrivervalley.com/">Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway</a>.<br /><br />So I rolled Triumph out of the garage and got moving.<br /><br />One of the nice things about living on the Middle Coast is that it never takes more than about <a href="http://pizzacrusade.blogspot.com/2013/07/twenty-minutes-to-nowhere.html">twenty minutes to get into the middle of nowhere</a>. It's fantastic feeling like I have the road entirely to myself, and I couldn't have been more than ten miles outside of town before traffic disappeared.<br /><br />That's not to say that there weren't other people out. A lot of other bikes passed by, along with a handful of cars. But most of the time I felt like I was on my own.<br /><br />While there weren't many sections of road that I would call twisty, the road was pleasantly curvy and, of course, full of interesting things to see and explore. I'm sure it would be possible to make a day of the ride, stopping in the small towns along the way for coffee, ice cream and other essentials. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oq3GRXWMGxY/VU_m0GzzriI/AAAAAAAAA9I/8nPWtrKW_ps/s1600/Church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oq3GRXWMGxY/VU_m0GzzriI/AAAAAAAAA9I/8nPWtrKW_ps/s400/Church.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I should probably revisit this spot in the fall, when the leaves change.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Despite how it looks in these photos, I didn't really ride any distance on gravel roads, except to park and take photos. It struck me how many gravel roads there were, just waiting to be explored, however. I'll have to go back and check them out, eventually. Though, between you and me, Triumph doesn't particularly like loose gravel.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PMpCaVuBf9k/VU_m8pIQbrI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/NKIjs11x39o/s1600/RoadSigns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PMpCaVuBf9k/VU_m8pIQbrI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/NKIjs11x39o/s400/RoadSigns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I could tear this road up if I <i>wanted</i> to. I just don't want to."<br />"I know, Triumph."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTour/~4/GuSiKfWTkpY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Luckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13520267.post-82998624077445287932015-07-08T08:26:00.001-05:002015-07-08T08:51:08.958-05:00The New Hotness from Ural<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i52jYp96Syo/VZrMM5U9Q0I/AAAAAAAAA-w/jGCNHe4H_iA/s1600/still-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i52jYp96Syo/VZrMM5U9Q0I/AAAAAAAAA-w/jGCNHe4H_iA/s400/still-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently that tent is where the rhythm section has to sleep.<br />Bassists do tend to stay up late and can get rowdy...<br />[Photo swiped from Ural's website.]</td></tr></tbody></table>Ural has released a new special version of the <a href="http://imz-ural.com/2015-gear-up.html">Gear Up</a>. They're calling it the <a href="http://imz-ural.com/sportsman-camp.html">Sportsman Package</a>. If you dig the Gear Up, well, you'll probably dig the Sportsman Package too. They've added a few fun tweaks:<br /><ul><li>High powered LED fog lights and headlight</li><li>A "Forest Fog" powder-coat paint scheme</li><li>Sharp looking tan seat and sidecar covers</li><li>A ceramic undercoating to help protect the underside from whatever you care to bounce it off of.</li><li>Nifty blacked-out engine</li><li>Rear bumper for the sidecar&nbsp;</li></ul>One of the things I really admire about Ural is their dedication to ongoing innovation, improvement, and performance. They're a company that's not afraid to say, "This thing is good already, but it could be just a little better." You just never know what kind of cutting edge improvements they're going to come up with for the next iteration.<br /><br />Also, it's already July. Aren't we about due for this year's special edition announcement? I'm already excited about it...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheGreatMotorcyclePizzaTour/~4/B022rxh60Jc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Luckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12481824369632937289noreply@blogger.com6